I don't own Naruto as I made pretty clear in my other story. This is the only time I'm bothering with a disclaimer. Once again, please contact me before using any OC's I use or introduce. Also, fanart of them would be kinda cool.

Dang, when I thought of the characters, this didn't seem very hard. But I think I figured out how I want to start Lovesick Puppy. It's unfortunate I have to start it at this point but I think it's the best way to tie it with Faded Dreams.

Once again, criticism is what I'm looking for, so if you have something you particularly liked or disliked, let me know.

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"Hey, you're um..you're Kiba, right?" The youth blinked, looking over at the approaching figure. She was older than him, in her mid twenties. Her black hair was maybe long enough to reach her mid back but was pulled up to make an uneven sort of fan shape that stuck over the top of her head. The front of her hair style framed her forehead and cheeks, covering her ears as it jaggedly edged its way down the sides of her face, the longest parts reaching her chin. She wore a knee length tan coat, undone in the middle to reveal her slim and supple figure and had the collar popped up stiffly. She had light steel looking shin pads above some blue feet pads. She wore a skin-tight two piece body suit that went from above her knees to her upper arms, fishnet designed. Across her lower abdomen was a light brown sort of skirt. Her face was a little rounded and almost chubby - if she had any fat on her body anyways. She gazed at him nervously with her dark grey eyes.

"Eh? Yeah, that's me? Is somethin' wrong?" Kiba looked up at the slightly taller woman. She grew a little rosey on her cheeks. Kiba's silent, taller teammate with a short, fuzzy affro was a fair distance away listening to his timid, softly spoken teammate, who was a good deal shorter than Kiba himself. Hinata stroked the cuddled up little white dog in her arms as she conversed softly with Shino. Akamaru, the said white dog snoozed contently being held. Kiba had been waiting a little nervously away from them against the chain linked fence, trying to ease his nerves and jitteriness before they began the second portion of their Chuunin exam - making it to the center of 'the forest of death.' Not exactly something that you look foreward too if you were sane.

"Um.." She poked her fingers together, hunching a little. She looked around to make sure no one was looking, then leaned over so she was around a foot away and whispered to him. Kiba's feral looking black eyes widened as she spoke to him, her cheeks getting a little more pink as she continued. When she looked back shortly afterwards, he could only feel suspicious.

"Are you serious? Why're you telling me this?" Kiba demanded. This smells like a trap. The head examiner for the second portion, telling him the safest, shortest route to the objective(1)? Maybe she was doing this to all the teams and actually sending them along the most dangerous routes, giving the chance for the most conflict. She only smiled widely to herself, rocking her shoulders and pressing her fingers together more enthusiastically.

"Um..because I like those cute red markings on your cheeks..? Er no..no real reason.." Wait a min..this is how Hinata acts with Naruto. Does..does that mean what I think it does?

"Uh..are you doing it because you have a crush on me, lady?" She turned red.

"My name is 'Anko,' Kiba-kun," is all she managed to mumble.

"Wha...what! You're like twice my age!" He pointed a finger at the Jounin. "That's kinda wrong!"

She hung her head. "Okay, if that's how you feel.." Kiba was both a little honored but majorly weirded out that she had been attracted to him. She was about twice his age after all from the looks and smells of it.

Everytime during the exam his mind wasn't occuppied, Kiba remembered her telling him 'I like those cute red markings on your cheeks,' and he'd grimace while twitching a bit. Particularly as they followed the trail she had given them. He just felt..so wrong. But he also regretted he couldn't really give it a chance being someone actually liked him of all people.

Following the route (hesitantly) that Anko had given them after setting up a trap to steel another team's scroll right off the bat, they found themselves immediately at their destination - the tower in the center of the forest. After both her and Hinata had been defeated in the preliminaries (Shino had advanced), they found themselves free for a month. Shino spent the majority of his time training with his father Shibi, who was probably the best instructor for the silent shinobi at the time, teaching him more useful things with his destruction bugs which his team could not.

"Oy Hinata," Kiba called to Hinata one day as they prepared to leave training for the day.

"What is it, Kiba-kun?" She asked meekly, in her soft, cooing voice. Man, she oozes cuteness..

"Ano..are you going to the tournament to see Shino compete?" He pried. Akamaru eyed the jewel-eyed girl from within Kiba's grey, fur-lined coat.

"Yes, I was going to go watch." She admitted softly.

"Oh uh, wanna go together then? I'm a little worried about you the damage you took from your duel with Neji in the preliminaries." Kiba said.

"Um.." Did she want to go with someone else? "..okay." She said half heartedly.

"Great. I'll meet you at the Genin training area closest to the stadium on the day of." He grinned at her, curving the wide, red markings akin to two triangles pointed down, one on either cheek. His canines were a little sharp for a human.

"Alright, Kiba-kun." The two parted their ways.

On the day of the tournament, Kiba found himself waking in his messy bed. He felt like he had been hit by a car in the face. He cast his blurred vision over his room - it was a mess as always, things just thrown about wherever. Akamaru was licking his face.

"Eh..? Akamaru, what is it?" He moved the whining, easily held puppy from his face with a hand gently. "Ahh! It's already noon?" He yelled, looking at the red numbers on his alarm clock. Not that waking up at this time was anything abnormal for the boy, but he had hoped someone would wake him up in time for the tournament. He quickly threw everything on himself, scrubbed his teeth and with his faithful companion running alongside of him exitted his house.

"I like those cute red markings on your cheeks," kept haunting him as he walked towards the stadium for his awaiting friend. Oh god, why can't I just forget that, he demanded to himself shuddering. "Huh? There's Hinata.." he said to himself, and Akamaru barked once in aknowledgement. She was surprisingly dressed down, wearing a sleeveless baby blue collared shirt that buttoned up the middle, but off to the side more. She was hugging one of the three thick wooden posts protruding from the ground.

"Sorry I'm late, Hinata," he began. She didn't answer, just kept staring ahead down the trail. "..eh?" He looked at her. She was wide eyed and blushing a good deal. He looked down the trail but didn't see anything. How long has she been standing there like that?

Along the way he found her poking her fingers together, smiling softly to herself as they walked, still blushing. "Um Hinata? What happened?" She sighed, looking up at the sky as she smiled happily. She told him how she had confessed how much she admired Naruto to the said boy. It must be great having someone like you so much.. he grumbled in his mind. "I like those red markings on your cheeks," he spasmed, wincing.

Unfortunately for the two, their spectating ended early on during Naruto's match with Neji, the ANBU costumed Kabuto putting both to sleep. And more unfortunately war with Otokagure(2) broke out, resulting in the death of their current Hokage, Sarutobi. But that was so long ago now for the young boy.

Kiba had been living a fairly predictable day to day life - waking up at noon, seeing Hinata moon over Naruto while the two got closer, and wondering how long his closest companion was going to be Akamaru and eating cheese burgers every day. However, that was about to change..it had been a fairly long while since Tsunade had became Hokage and even longer since their Chuunin exams. However, their substition exam was approaching rapidly, and he found himself once against preparing for the test. He wasn't sure if he would've passed the first time around but he knew this time he could do it.

Kiba found himself opening the doors to the Hokage's office. As he entered and shut the door behind him, he felt the soft, small, warm and furry body of Akamaru stir inside of his warm, baggy coat. He looked across from her to see someone he had been avoiding all this time.

Anko wiggled her fingers at shoulder height while grinning with a stain of pink on either cheek, standing next to Tsunade. The blonde, well endowed Hokage frowned with her thin eyebrows, putting her hands infront of her lips. She thought for a while, and Kiba could feel his insides getting a bit uneasy. He looked around the perhaps overly spacious office. Anko's grin subsided to a very content and wide smile.

"Um.." Kiba cleared his throat. Why am I the first one here? Normally I'm the last, I'm at least fifteen minutes late..Shino is always early, Hinata is always on the dot and Kurenai usually comes to these things with Hinata.

"If you're wondering why you're alone, it's because this mission you're working with Anko here." Wha..what did she just say? He stared at Tsunade wide eyed. He swallowed, Akamaru whined softly. "Hinata is off with Naruto delivering some communications to Hidden Rain. Shino is still on his long-term mission with his father Shibi. You're the only one left on your specialized tracking team. And this isn't something you can do alone so..I'm sending Anko with you." Oh god..at least I'll have Akamaru with me.. Anko's smile would not leave her face.

"Uh..uh isn't there anyone else who could you know, kinda lend a hand on this mission..?" Tsunade raised her small, thin eyebrows behind her hands.

"You're asking for help? That's quite unlike you." She commented.

"Erm..well Just I uh.." Kiba fidgetted nervously. "His eyebrow twitched as he looked at the older shinobi from him who only pinked in her cheeks more, giggling softly.

"I'm sorry, Kiba. Normally I agree with you but everyone's tied up. I was going to have Anko go alone but luckily you finished your mission just in time before I sent her off," Tsunade said with a sigh. Kiba's heart sank. That was unlucky..I told ma we should've taken it slower, damn it. "This can't wait any longer. Now that that's over with," and the Hokage doled out their mission briefing.

Outside of the office, Kiba grimaced with a shudder as Anko hurried and came next to him. "Wow, I can't believe I get to be all alone with you for a whole mission, Kiba-kun!" She sighed happily. "Now we can get closer with all that alone time!" Anko rattled on as the boy convulsed with his eyes closed spasmadically.

Kiba felt dirty inside, clenching his eyes shut. This is all just a nightmare..wake up Kiba. It's noon, I promise you. Just open your eyes and eat that cheeseburger ma has waiting for you downstairs.. "..is really frigid at night so we'll have to share body heat. I can't believe our first night out we're gonna cuddle all night!" Anko squealed. Kiba panting irradically, a sensation in his stomach threatening to heave the half-processed food in it. He decided the need to block out whatever she was saying was very high. Damn it, aren't there laws against this sort of thing?

Kiba found himself dragging his feet to the gates of Konoha. He really did not want to go all the way out into the wind country to dig around for some stupid abandoned laboratory Orochimaru may or may not have used at some given time in the past. He wouldn't mind but the company he was forced to take..he found Anko awaiting him anxiously, as she gave the finger wiggle wave again, smiling all the while. This mission is going to scar me for the rest of my life, I can tell already..

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Author's Notes:

(1) In the anime/manga, team Kurenai was the fastest of Konoha's and second fastest team altogether. I think it only took them like one day - basically them traveling straight to the tower safely after their initial fight right at the begining of the second part.

(2) Hidden Village of Sound.